Eating around Changi Village

I had a staycation at Changi Village Hotel recently and despite the temporary closure of Changi Food Centre, there are plenty to eat around the hotel, giving the hotel a run for its money.

AIRFIELD COFFEESHOP
Just walk down towards Changi Village, you will find many coffeeshops and cafes serving all kinds of food. Firstly there is zi-char food by Yu at the Old Airfield Coffeeshop. I had their Pork Ribs Special (10-20 SGD) which was very tasty, tender and juicy. The gravy is quite appetizing with rice too.

The Kailan with Mushrooms and Kang Kong were nicely stir-fried too. The vegetables remained crunchy and well-mixed with oyster and kang kong sauce. Needless to say, they went very well with the fragrant white rice.

At Airfield Coffeeshop, we also have Satay. Each stick cost 60 cents and each stick was well-worth the money. The satay meat (both chicken and pork) was well-marinated and tender and I enjoyed those charred bits that give the satay a bit of crunch and smoky flavor.

IPOH CAFE

Just across the road, Ipoh Café specializes in Malaysian dishes. Despite its name, most of the food items seem to come from Penang rather than Ipoh. Unsurprisingly, they serve Ipoh White Coffee here including a Durian flavor one!

The Penang Char Kway Teow (5.00 SGD) here is really good and almost like those I had in Penang. The only flaw with their char kway teow is the prawns which aren’t the crystal, succulent ones I had in Penang. The ones here seemed overcooked.

I also tried their Assam Laksa, it was fragrant but unlike those in Penang, this is not as spicy and people who don’t eat spicy stuff could enjoy this sour variant of the laksa without perspiring all over.

Next door, Chocolate Origin serves up some real decadent but delicious chocolate cakes. If whole cakes aren’t what you are looking for then try their Chocolate Lava Cake instead. They cost only 5-5.5 SGD (as compared to Wine Company’s 10++ SGD).

This chocolate aphrodisiac come in the form of a cup, the molten lava cake is served on top of a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It was quite good actually. The ice cream may not be Latte e Miele’s or Haagen Daz but it was good enough to satisfy my craving for a decent chocolate dessert.

Just further down, you will find Crepes and Puffs, a newly opened café serving crepes, puffs, pastries and cafes. I only tried their Mango Crepe and I think it was very nicely done. The crepe wasn’t too thick and the best part is the generous chunk of sweet mango that was wrapped around with inside the crepe with a layer of chipped cream.

LE XUAN DIM SUM

5 Changi Village Road

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If ang moh chocolate dessert isn’t what you are looking for then head over to Le Xuan Dim Sum. Their Liu Sha Pau cost only 3.80 SGD for 3 and it was comparable with those in Swee Choon and in my humble opinion, better than Victor Kitchen’s. Personally, I enjoyed this for its savoury flavor. It wasn’t as sweet as Swee Choon’s and most importantly, the custard flows out like molten gold.

JOHOR BAHRU DIM SUM4 Changi Village Road#01-2082

Speaking of dim sum, a visit to Changi Village is not complete without dropping by Johor Bahru Pau for their ginormous 叶子楣大包 filled with eggs, chicken, minced pork, mushrooms and other ingredients. Cost about 4 to 3 SGD depending on which pau, these huge buns has a really tasty gravy. They also serves up delicious char siew pau that are larger than the usual ones.

Last but not least, how can we miss out on a classic Singaporean dish and one of my favourites: the Hainanese Chicken when visiting a food haven like Changi Village? The Tiong Bahru Boneless Hainanese Chicken Rice is the place to grab a classic like this.

You could have one for your own for 3.50 SGD or you could share half a chicken with your friends which include tender parts of the chicken with its skin on. Their Signature Tofu and Kailan were pretty good too. With drinks, side dishes and the chicken included, it cost about 22.50 SGD for 3 persons.

I wouldn't know what goes on inside the kitchen even for the high end restaurants or the factories of the big chain restaurant, Eating out always carry a certain amount of risk. Besides, been through army and eaten street food in Malaysia and Thailand before, soo yeap, sometimes they ain't that clean too.